Words to live by!

When I read this quote today, I could not wait to share it. I don't know if anyone has ever taken on the challenge of eliminating excuses all together; however, I can tell you it is not as easy as it sounds.

I challenged myself over a year ago to start removing words and habits that did not serve me. I initially thought that I rarely made excuses; however, when it was on my radar I started noticing that was not the case.

I would make comments to my kids like, I didn't get to that because....then I noticed that I was making excuses for everyone around me (my family, friends, etc.)

It took some time to re-wire my thoughts, words, and actions.

So the challenge is this: for those of you who have done this, what advice and lessons do you have to share?

For everyone else -- why not challenge yourself to eliminate excuses. The huge benefit that I noticed is that I hold myself to higher standards and hold myself to be accountable for my actions and decisions.

"Lots people want to get started with game based learning, gamification and serious games in their training. We’ve been curating game related content for over a year and a half while conducting our own research and case studies. Here are 100 articles related to games and learning. Some of them are research-based, while others just offer an interesting perspective to spark discussion. Take what you need and share this with a colleague."

I have recently been working with organizations on how the introduction of gamification into their training and development strategy plans for employee skill development. The interesting thing as well is the application of the concepts to both hard and soft skills, that allow for returning to the results in the future as well as updating of skills as the individual progresses.

I am a fan of Christine Heine and this post shows why. She is constantly learning and leading the path for better education and instruction for students. Instead of "being too busy", like so many others, she invests time on the social web to improve her skills while helping others with relevant content. We need more leaders like Christine.

From the article:

I have been on Twitter for 8 months and spent some time this weekend evaluating the experience. I am a firm believer in evaluation and using feedback to improve and refine practice. Recently, I forwarded a brief survey to faculty to use at the end of 3rd quarter. They were asked to administer this survey to all students in each of their classes. The feedback received was helpful and for some, rather surprising.

Robin Good: Here is a handy short guide to nine free infographic creation tools that can be utilized to create enticing visuals, word charts and data-based infographics without having special technical skills.

Leaders often find themselves getting lost within the growing demands of the workplace and losing sight of what matters most to their employees. As such, they fail to realize the negative repercussions that the lack of strategic focus can have on their ability to deepen relationships with employees, which is important to understanding their specific needs for success. As a consequence, employees begin to lose trust in leaders that they perceive as self-absorbed, complacent and only concerned about their own well-being – rather than interested in advancing the people they are responsible for leading.

I am a fan of Christine Heine and this post shows why. She is constantly learning and leading the path for better education and instruction for students. Instead of "being too busy", like so many others, she invests time on the social web to improve her skills while helping others with relevant content. We need more leaders like Christine.

From the article:

I have been on Twitter for 8 months and spent some time this weekend evaluating the experience. I am a firm believer in evaluation and using feedback to improve and refine practice. Recently, I forwarded a brief survey to faculty to use at the end of 3rd quarter. They were asked to administer this survey to all students in each of their classes. The feedback received was helpful and for some, rather surprising.

The highest performing businesses have a leaders who are proficient at having difficult conversations within their organizations. In fact, we know that when they use mindful leadership techniques, there is a correlation with improved productivity.

Excellent post. It is so easy to get negative when dealing with resentful employees. From the article:

In those situations, we (as leaders) can subtly call these colleagues out by saying something like,

“I can see that you’re very passionate about this issue and I’m glad we have the opportunity to do something about it together.”

This kind of response can diffuse anger by showing the employee that you’re actually on their side and are pleased that, like you, she wants to create a better environment in which to work.

This removes the anger from the complaint and transfers it into a request that will most certainly result in improved efficiency as well as a teachable moment for the employee.

It also takes a negative contributor to the organization’s culture and transitions them into a positive one. As others observe this, the employee’s resentful reputation changes for the better and (consciously or not) your reputation as an empowering leader improves.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.